Frugal Friday – How to Save Money When Travelling with TopCashback.Com

The accountant in me loves to save a bob or two and I personally think you don’t have to be an accountant to want to save money when travelling. You may have seen the ads on telly or maybe you’ve got a friend that already uses the website (like I do with Rachel!)...let me introduce you to TopCashback.com and how you can save some cash on your next trip.

Firstly What is TopCashback.com?

The website acts as an affiliate link, so you head into your account and search for the company you want to make a purchase from. If they’re on the website, click on the link, make your purchase and wait for a percentage of the money to come back to your account in a few weeks time.

Now this is the best bit; you can have the money transferred to your account or if you are avios hungry like me, then you can have the cash transferred into avios points to use for a one world flight (British Airways, Iberia etc) at a later date.

What Travel Companies Are Listed On TopCashback.com?

Hotels.com

At the time of me writing this, you could earn 8.4% back on your hotel stays booked via hotels.com like the very beautiful La Mamounia in Marrakech(the percentage changes depending on what is offered at the time but any cash back means more money in your pocket!) plus Hotels.com have an awesome loyalty programme if you like staying at independent hotels rather than chain hotels…double bubble savings!

Lastminute.com / Expedia.co.uk

There are different cash back structures for flights, hotels and experiences etc however I’m a firm believer, if you take care of the pennies and the dollars will take care of themselves.

Travel Magazines

Now when I’m not travelling, I’m a total armchair traveller and I love love love reading travel magazines for inspiration and planning my next trip (and I’m also quite partial to the Good Housekeeping magazine!). There are a great variety of deals from a few different suppliers – work out who offers the magazine subscription you’re after and then look at who offers the best cash back offer…I’ve just ordered two £5 subscriptions to see if I like the magazine before locking myself into a yearly subscription and I will be getting £4.20 cash back for using their website.

Booking Airfares

We book a lot of airfares and it’s fair to say that I should be booking via the TopCashback.Com website but I’ve not done this as yet…doh doh doh! So if you’re booking a flight then make sure you book via the cash back website to get some extra pennies in your pocket especially when the airline is having a sale…double bubbling again! And it’s not just British Airways that offers a cash back – you have Singapore Airlines, Flybe, Thomas Cook Airlines, Air France, Qatar, Cathay Pacific, Emirates, KLM, Monarch, Virgin Atlantic and the list goes on…you won’t lose out on frequent flyer miles or tiers when booking via the cash back website either so don’t fret about that.

Ebay

Now you probably think..why have I added eBay and there is a simple reason…they offer 1% on any purchase and you’ll be surprised how many items you can pick up brand new on the website for your gap year or even a city break. !

Trainline.com

If you do a bit of train travel around the UK then make sure you pop through the topcashback.com website to receive some pennies back in your purse. I go through this website and occasionally it ties in nicely with the American Express offer where I receive a further 5% cash back if I use my American Express credit card…double bubbling again!

Car Rental Firms

The website also offers a number of Car Rental options so you should be able to spot your favourite car rental company and get a little cash back.

Heathrow Airport Carparking

If you’re like us, we will either stay the night before our morning flight at an airport hotel which offers a car park deal or we use Heathrow Airport Carparking…now there are a few options here but G and I like to use the pod as it’s such a quick and easy way to access your car after your flight. There are some great value deals so take the time to investigate!

Chain Hotels

Now as you know I’m a huge fan of IHG and we stay with them a lot as I’m a Spire Ambassador (I’ve earned this from staying with them and my credit card usage; not through blogging!) however they don’t offer a cash back which I’m totally gutted about…come on folks! But never fret as the following chains do offer a cashback: Hilton, Marriot, Accor and Best Western to just name a few.

Okay, I wasn’t a huge fan of Disneyland Paris but I know it’s on a lot of people’s wish lists so why not book your vacation via the website and get a cash back.

TravelZoo

Do you get the weekly travelzoo email like I do; I’ve booked a few bits and pieces over the years as the deals can be VERY cheap! You can get it even cheaper by using the cash back website and getting a percentage back…something to consider right if you are watching your pennies?!

Car & Travel Insurance

After G had over £100k worth of medical treatment after a diving incident in Cyprus a few years ago, I’m a firm believer that if you can’t afford travel insurance then you can’t afford to travel! There are a number of car and travel insurance options that you can get a rebate on, so do some research and see what the best offer is for you!

Credit Cards

You know when you sign up for a new credit card, well there are a few companies that offer a cash back if you sign up through this website! Basically they’re offering you free money – use the credit card right, make your purchases and then pay it all off when the payment is due and you won’t pay any interest. (Only apply for a credit card if you can trust yourself to use it correctly!).

How to Join TopCashback.com?

It’s very easy, just set up an account and bob’s your uncle…you can start shopping. I always do a comparison between the TopCashback.com and BA Avios eStore websites to see who is offering the better of the deals at the time with cash back and avios.

I don’t accept freebies for this blog so everything that I write about is something that I’ve paid for out of my own pocket…and I know that my readers like this fact as you’ve sent me emails saying so, which I really appreciate! There are so many great ways to save on travel in the United Kingdom, you just need to take the time to find them…every Friday I do my weekly spreadsheet updating my finances, hence why Friday is called Frugal Friday in our home, it’s a total eye opener to where our money is going but it has made me so much more careful on how I spend our money now.

Disclaimer: this post contains affiliate links…it doesn’t cost you anything extra to click through however if you do make a purchase then it means I make a VERY SMALL commission.

8 Comments

You would love it…it’s amazing the quality of website for travel, home stuff and insurances so if you are watching your pennies or trying to save, it’s a good little way to make yourself a bonus to spend later xx

Great post Kelly. We’ve used TopCashback for a good few years now and it’s so worth while. Just checked my account and it’s got £160 payable. It’s always nice to come home from some travels and find a little bonus stashed away!

We are very loyal to Expedia and they also offer TopCashback! Hooray for Frugal Friday.

It’s totally worth while Sarah, especially when you’ve spent a lot of money on a honeymoon and wedding recently. That’s a nice tidy sum to come home to!
I couldn’t get over how many suppliers they offered in travel excluding Expedia…they had 10% recently so will be booking my flights through them to get a bigger cash back…loving frugal Fridays hehe xx

Great post me dear – I use sites like this one and Quidco, but oddly never thought about looking through them for holiday related stuff! Good to know about Trainline though – I use this a lot but used to go via Quidco till it disappeared off their list. Now I know I can go through top cash back, so cheers!

By the way, on a total aside, are you heading to Traverse next weekend? It’d be lovely to meet in person if you’re there! K x

Thanks Keri!
I think Quidco and TopCashBack are both very similar but yes use TopCashBack for all my travel bookings now especially the hotels as you can get up to 15% rebate which isn’t to be sniffed at.
No unfortunately not xx

Super late to this party but yay I love Top Cashback! I’ve earned a lot over the years, and it’s especially good if you’re incurring work expenses because then you get something for nothing :) Glad it’s working out for you, nothing like a good frugal tip!Rachel recently posted…Expat Stories 4: The charity workers